Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Now that I'm back to work, my evenings are pretty hectic. It seems like a rush to try and get everything done before Caitlin needs to go to bed at 8pm. That includes dinner and cleanup, and packing leftovers for lunches. Not to mention all of the cleanup of bottles and clothes, and re-packing for the next day. Basically, I've worked 6 days now and am already not liking this new schedule. Luckily I am taking Wednesdays off as a vacation day for a while, but still need to get things more manageable because those days are limited.

To save some time, I'm trying to use my crockpot more. It's great in the winter to make a big pot of soup and have dinner ready to go without much effort. I found this recipe for Chicken and Dumplings and although it was meant to be made on the stovetop in about an hour, I used the crockpot instead. Check out the source link for the original recipe. I have adapted the ingredients and directions below to the way I prepared the recipe.

This was one of my favorite soups I have ever made. It's healthy, hearty, and you probably have all of the ingredients to make this already. The broth is thick and has a rich chicken flavor. The dumplings were the best part, though. With the garlic, basil, and butter, they weren't at all bland. We'll definitely be making this again. Next time I might add in some peas.

Combine the flour with basil, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. But in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Remaining Ingredients:1/4 cup of cornstarch1/4 cup of chicken broth (I just dipped some out of the crockpot to mix)1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker. Combine the cornstarch with the chicken broth and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Add slurry to the soup.

Dumpling Directions:Drop dumpling dough, 1-2 tsp per dumpling, into the chicken soup. Cover and continue to cook on low for another hour and a half - two hours. Add the chopped parsley to the soup and serve.

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comments:

I'm due in May and already thinking about those hectic days when I return to work after the first few months off! I hope I can be as successful at making hearty, homemade meals as you have been. Good luck with the new scheduele!